Advertisement

Updated May 2nd, 2019 at 16:20 IST

Are Social, Personal Robots Getting Any Closer To Us

Hopes that the tech industry was on the cusp of rolling personal robots into homes are dimming now that several once-promising consumer robotics companies have shut down.

| Image:self
Advertisement

Hopes that the tech industry was on the cusp of rolling personal robots into homes are dimming now that several once-promising consumer robotics companies have shut down. 

The latest casualty was San Francisco startup Anki, maker of the playful toy robot Cozmo, which upon its release in 2016 seemed like the start of a new wave of sociable machines. 

That dream ended this week when Anki CEO and co-founder Boris Sofman gathered many of the company’s nearly 200 employees to deliver the news that all of them would be laid off Wednesday. The bad news soon spread to fans and owners of Cozmo and its newer cousin Vector, unveiled last year in an effort to appeal to grown-ups. 

“Cozmo was the first robot that felt almost alive,” said David Schaefer, a programmer and robot enthusiast in Portland, Oregon, who was so enamored with the feisty machine that he created a “Life with Cozmo” channel on YouTube that’s attracted millions of viewers. One of the most popular videos, called ”Unrequited Love ,” documents Cozmo’s awkward interactions with a guinea pig. 

Anki’s demise was part of a string of failed efforts to launch life-like robots into the market. Boston-based Jibo, founded by one of the pioneers of social robotics, went out of business less than a year after its curvy talking speaker made the cover of Time Magazine’s “best inventions” edition. Another startup, California-based Mayfield Robotics, last year stopped manufacturing Kuri, a camera-equipped machine marketed as a watchful roving nanny. 

None of them have been able to compete with immobile smart speakers made by Amazon, Apple and Google, which cost less than their more physically complex robotic counterparts but are powered by ever-improving artificial-intelligence systems that serve most users’ needs. 

“AI without a body has caught on really well,” said Yan Fossat, head of the research lab at Toronto-based Klick Health, which is exploring social robotics in the medical field. “Physical robots, with a body to do something, are not really catching up.” They cost too much for the marginal service they offer, he said. 

Still, Anki got farther than most of its robotics hardware peers in appealing to the masses with an emotionally intelligent machine that cost hundreds of dollars less than Jibo, Kuri or Sony’s robotic dog Aibo. 

“You cannot sell a robot for $800 or $1,000 that has capabilities of less than an Alexa,” Sofman told The Associated Press last year. He and other company leaders declined comment Tuesday, but a spokesman said the company was “exploring all options to keep our products functioning and cloud services running.” 

The company reported about $100 million in annual revenue in 2017, and as of last year had sold more than 1.5 million products, including its robots and the car-racing game Overdrive. 

“It does feel a little devastating,” said Schaefer, who this week started the Twitter hashtag #SaveAnki in hopes that a bigger tech company or toy maker might acquire it. “Anki took steps toward robotics that other companies haven’t tried yet.” 

Tech industry analyst Carolina Milanesi was also saddened by Anki’s demise, but a premonition of the company’s fate was the Cozmo sitting idly on her daughter’s nightstand for the past six months. The toy market is unforgiving, and Anki may have been unable to extend its reach beyond it, she said. 

“There’s hype at the beginning, you have very engaged kids, and then they move onto something else,” Milanesi said. “Kids grow up. She’s now 11 and ‘Fortnite’ is everything that matters to her in life.” 

Also Read: Missouri S&T Robots To Play Role In Bridge Upgrade Effort

Advertisement

Published May 2nd, 2019 at 16:17 IST

Your Voice. Now Direct.

Send us your views, we’ll publish them. This section is moderated.

Advertisement
Advertisement

Trending Quicks

former dsp shailendra singh revealed criminal activity of Mukhtar Ansari
3 minutes ago
TCS 'cash for jobs' scam
5 minutes ago
IBL Finance IPO
9 minutes ago
Congress Press Conference
9 minutes ago
Virat Kohli keeps a close watch on Gautam Gambhir
11 minutes ago
Lok Sabha Elections 2024 LIVE
15 minutes ago
Good Friday
16 minutes ago
Life Insurance Corporation
16 minutes ago
Kerala Nirmal Lottery Sambad Friday Result
21 minutes ago
US Federal Reserve
23 minutes ago
Airbrush Brow Trend: Know Its Benefits, Procedure, And More
26 minutes ago
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Whatsapp logo